WHAT I LEARNED FROM DANIEL : THE BLOG ~~ Our loving, brilliant, and remarkable,twelve and a half year old son died suddenly, and without clear cause, the day after Thanksgiving, 2008. This blog is a window into how my husband, our children, and I learn what happened to him, and how we survive his passing from Earth. It is also a chronicle of the blessings that envelope us now. How we survive is documented both here in snapshot, and in our book, "What I Learned from Daniel".

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Hurried Thanksgiving Journey

This is Augusta County, Virginia. We drove through here on our way to Staunton and environs.

Today, one of the adult kids and I made a mad dash to Staunton, Virginia which is a couple of hours from here and over the mountains. I don't go that way very often, but we had a rare opportunity. In the Spring, we are moving the alpacas from their original barn here to the new barn and pastures and we will need all new fencing in the new area. This is normally extremely costly. Not only does the wood and the fencing materials for a large area cost quite a bit, but the labor for digging such deep holes for fence posts is expensive, especially in Virginia's rocky mountainous soil and clay. The last time we hired someone to help us with this, it was very costly. This week, we learned that a large hydraulic diesel auger was for sale in the mountains, from a large farm equipment sales company, but that the owner expected it to sell very quickly.
Somehow, I arranged to move the money from one account to another. Then, I had one of our sons bring a truck which could tow such a device. We took off early this morning when we could have been cleaning the house, and readying for Thanksgiving.
I haven't been through that area for about two years. My son joked that it was a shame my husband did not have today off, because this was a task that normally men would do. It was a regular "man-venture" he said. Afton Mountain was steep and foggy and the pre-Thanksgiving traffic was heavy. The Garmin kept telling us we were on track. As we passed through Waynesboro, I had forgotten that all the great outlet stores had closed. I noticed a closed Books a Million too. As we continued before hitting Interstate 81 I noticed a huge Mennonite-styled barn with a huge cloth sign which said, "Pray for Recovery".
We saw lots of things for sale, and animals for sale cheaply as we headed toward our destination. Eventually, we easily found the store which had the auger. It started easily and was in good used condition. We paid the man, and my son attached it to the back of his truck. We stopped at a restaurant with a large parking lot for our long load, in Waynesboro, and took a needed lunchbreak. Then, we headed back onto the interstate again. The autumn is so beautiful even this late in the season. This area has already passed its first snow this year. As we navigated the hills and mountains and passed the scenic overlooks to the valley below, the song below played in my head. It's funny that the music of today only rarely matches how powerful I remember the music of my youth having been. Then, I remembered that the musical artist singing it, has passed now. Sometimes it feels like so many people have passed from my early life, that only my husband and parents and some friends remain. Maybe this is how God intends it to be. Perhaps with so many people we love in Heaven, we don't wish to fight or argue when it is our turn.
We got home in time to take a break and then tackle the tasks we had shirked to run our errand. Now, we will be able to dig those corner posts and fence posts including gate posts easily. Our daughter may even be lucky enough to get us to install the gate she needs.
Tomorrow, will be Thanksgiving, the holiday in which so many of our family members passed. Both my parents, and our youngest son Daniel, all passed around Thanksgiving. This year, we worked really hard to pretend not to notice.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

This is another Daniel, other than ours who is very much missed from Earth. Dan Fogelberg passed in late 2007. We are thinking of his wife Jean, especially at this time of year.

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In Daniel's Memory: Aid to his dogs and rescue horses, for their continued care. Thank you !

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My most significant life's work has not been how I have made a living, but has been raising our four biological children, and now, our adopted son, who came to us a year after our youngest son Daniel's passing. To my husband and I, our children, are the most important element in our lives and everything we do, is with them in mind. God is first and our family is central afterward, and everything else we do must adhere to and adapt around God and family.
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Most of the musical or video performances included within this blog and a few of the photographs are included under fair use laws. In these circumstances, copyrights are held by the respective artists, composers, and producers of these works. Other works are copywritten by me. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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